1. On my SX-50, I have a standard incoming phone line coming into the LS/GS trunk card. Incoming calls I'm not having much issue with, however when I want to make an outgoing call, it always seems to go to a trunk that is not being used, therefore putting the system into alarm. I have 2 LS/GS trunk cards in the system, however I'm obviously not using them. Is there a way to 'force' the system to always use one trunk, i.e. Trunk-73 for all outgoing calls and for it not to 'hunt' for an open trunk?

2. I would also like to be able to answer the trunk from any extension, regardless of if that extension was ringing on the incoming line.

3. Can I set up a ring group to have a certain number of phones ring when an incoming call comes in (in addition to the console ringing without having to put it in night or overflow)?

4. I have a Citizen GSX-230 dot matrix printer that is in good working condition. However when hooked up to the Mitel system, it does nothing. Could that be a parity issue, or a baud rate issue? The printer seems to be quite advanced as far as dot matrix printers go, but it is from the same vintage, ca. 1992, so I'm sure I can get it to work. Just wondering if anyone knows a 'quick' fix before I start troubleshooting.

I know that was a lot to ask in one post, but any help is appreciated. Have a great 4th!

1. Remove all unused trunks from the trunk group, probably trunk group 1.

2. & 3. The only way to accomplish these at the same time is to direct all calls to a night bell. or bells. (Remember, 'nite bell' is "night" in name only) Then do TAFAS (Trunk Answer From Any Extension) from extension or console. Extension(s) must have TAFAS enabled in their COS. The console cannot be in a ring group, and calls directed to the Ring Group cannot be picked up by extensions outside the ring group, including the console.

4. How do you know that the printer is in good working condition. Can you put it on the serial port of a computer and print to it?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" However when hooked up to the Mitel system, it does nothing."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truly nothing, or just garbage? Truly nothing, assuming the printer REALLY works, probably means the SMDR, Wake Up, and Alarm print out functions are not 'turned on'. It is possible for the serial port in the Mitel to be inoperative, however. John C.

When I was young, I was Liberal. As I aged and wised up, I became Conservative. Now that I'm old, I have settled on Curmudgeon.

The Nite bell connections are limited to 2 bells, depending on their RE's. Telephones are NOT connected to the Nite bell output, there is no speech path, strictly a bell connection. Reread "2. & 3." from the July 3rd post. Any extension with TAFAS allowed in it's COS will be able to answer the line ringing on the NITE bell. The Console has TAFAS as part of it's basic abilities. It can either dial the code or have a TAFAS button assigned

You have not told us whether you are getting 'garbage' or absolutely nothing, and you have not confirmed whether SMDR, Wake up, or alarm print is turned on, why would you mess with bits or parity?

Unless you have an SX50 I & R manual AND know how to use it, AND understand it, it's time to call a qualified Mitel technician in. If someone doesn't contact you directly, post in the "Request An Installer" forum, or click on the 'Installer" tab at the top of this page.

When I was young, I was Liberal. As I aged and wised up, I became Conservative. Now that I'm old, I have settled on Curmudgeon.

I've spent many hours reading the installation and repair manual (i.e. I & R). I have a good understanding of it, and have solved scores of issues so far by just reading it. These are the last bits of information and programming that I need to complete my home-based system of running a series of 1920's phones. I can certainly appreciate your aggravation when my posts don't exactly sound like someone of 'phone grade' quality, however I just need some pointing in the right direction as per this trunk system. To be honest, some of the Mitel I & R book is not exactly laid out in user-friendly steps. I've read and re-read the trunk sections of programming and have not seen exactly what I need to do to 'disable' a trunk. Can you point me in the right direction as to what command to start with, and what I should be looking for? From that point, I can probably get the rest. I've spent 14 years in the Air Force as a Civil Engineer--these things just make sense to me! I feel that I've done well building an entire system from scratch, but just need guidance from someone with the experience and training that you have.

As for the printer--no output. NOTHING. not jargon--no printing at all from the mitel system.

In order for the SX50 to select a trunk for an outgoing call, you dial an ARS digit (usually '9') and the ARS grabs a trunk from the appropriate trunk group. You can avoid this by taking the trunk out of it's trunk group (Command 501-580, Register 1, Field b set to '0'). To completely disable the trunk set Field i to '0'.

As for the printer port output, you didn't say what you wanted to print. The Data Dump & Data Load functions automatically use this port. The system can also send SMDR (Station Message Detail Recordig) and Wake-Ups to the printer port. The common setting for all these functions is found at Command 100, Register 16 where you set the Speed, Parity, Data Bits, & Stop bits (Default is 1200/N/8/1.

To get SMDR (what I'm guessing you're looking for), you have to tell the system which stations to report on which trunks, for what type of calls and what type of calls.- For system settings, look in Command 100, Register 14. Here you'll tell the SX50 what types of calls to report and how to report them- For trunk group(s) settings, look in Commands 151-156, Register 2, Field i (set to '1' to enable). This tells the SX50 to report calls on this/these trunk groups.- For extension COS (Class Of Service) settings, look in Commands 121-129, Register 3, Field h (set to '1' to enable). This tells the SX50 to report calls on this this/these COS(s).

Assuming your printer and cabling are good, you should see data of some sort when you make a test call (stay on line for at least 2 minutes). If not, start checking the printer out on a PC before you assume there's a problem with the Mitel printer port. To check the Mitel port, hook up an RS-232 breakout box and look for signals on the data and control leads.

The -221 section of the practice has specific instructions and references to the SMDR port of an SX-50. IIRC there are a set of DIP switches in the Citizen printer to make it work. Easiest would be to take two wires and dump it into your computer. Solve the issue with Hyperterm and then work on the printer.

The printer port on the SX50 is serial, and yes, I've made the mistake of assuming the 25 pin female connector of later PC's is serial. It's parallel! Why did they change from the 40(?) pin Amphenol-type connector on the early PC's to the, ha-ha fooled you, 25 pin 'D' connector? (Swing right leg vigorously to rear and kick self in a--! ) John C.

When I was young, I was Liberal. As I aged and wised up, I became Conservative. Now that I'm old, I have settled on Curmudgeon.

Just so I am clear, you're saying that the serial and parallel cords can look and connect the same but do not work the same? So the problem may be my cord too? I thought that SX-50 was a parallel port.